Police detail efforts to stop wrong-way driver before deadly crash
Police on Monday detailed their efforts to try to stop a wrong-way driver who, despite being intercepted by officers on the Marsha Sharp Freeway, crashed into another car in a wreck that left the driver dead and several people in the other vehicle seriously injured just after midnight.
Lubbock police Lt. Brady Cross led a brief news conference Monday afternoon, saying the Lubbock Police Department’s Major Crash Unit is investigating the two-vehicle collision which occurred early Monday morning in the 100 block of Parkway Drive, resulting in an in-custody death.
Lubbock Police were called at 12:10 a.m. for reports of a wrong-way driver on Marsha Sharp Freeway near Upland Avenue in far southwest Lubbock.
The vehicle, a passenger car driven by 29-year-old Jimmy Lopez, was reported to be traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of Marsha Sharp Freeway.
Shortly after the initial call to LPD Dispatch, an off-duty officer who had just gone out-of-service, witnessed the vehicle traveling east in the westbound lanes of Marsha Sharp Freeway. As the officer saw the approaching vehicle, she activated her lights and sirens in an attempt to get the driver’s attention. After notifying dispatch at 12:14 a.m., the officer exited at West Loop 289, and re-entered Marsha Sharp Freeway in the eastbound lanes of traffic in an attempt to stop the passenger car. Lopez continued to travel east.
Additional officers in the area responded from both directions of Marsha Sharp Freeway to assist the initial officer. While responding, officers were working to position themselves to deploy measures to stop the vehicle.
Before officers were able to enact those measures, at 12:21 a.m. Lopez collided into an SUV traveling west in the westbound lanes of the 100 block of Parkway Drive. The SUV was driven by 34-year-old Valce Parks III.
Lopez was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The SUV was occupied by 31-year-old Jawanna Washington in the front passenger seat, a 14-year-old female, an 8-year-old male and 7-year-old female in the back seat.
Parks and the 8-year-old male were taken to University Medical Center via ambulance with serious injuries. Washington was transported to UMC with minor injuries, while the 14-year-old female and the 7-year-old female were also transported via ambulance to UMC with moderate injuries.
Cross said it was not immediately clear what prompted Lopez to drive in the direction during the duration of the cross-town trip on the freeway. Investigators are still working to determine if alcohol or other intoxicants were a factor.
No other vehicles were involved.
Cross said he was unsure if speed was a factor, and didn't know by Monday afternoon if officers thought Lopez was aware of the situation or their presence.
He said the concrete dividing barriers separating eastbound and westbound lanes - which were installed as a safety measure several years ago - in this case made officers' efforts more difficult to quickly catch up to the wrong-way vehicle.
He praised the driver who called 911 for alerting authorities to the threat.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Police detail efforts to stop wrong-way driver before deadly crash
